Quest
by Black Archivist
Summary: A young boy learning that the life of a demigod isn't as great as it seemed to be. No detailed plot just thoughts and memories. Accompany piece to Anonymous.
1. Chapter 1

**Notice: I don't own the world this was set in since that was conceptualized by Mr. Rick Riordan. I do own the plot and the non-canon characters. If it won't be much of a bother please do review. Thank you for taking the time to open or read this have a nice day/afternoon/evening.**

* * *

We made it. We brought back Apollo's lyre. Our first quest was a success or is it? Three left and two of us came back. The quest in itself became a dream, no scratch that, a nightmare.

I can remember bits and pieces like how the quest began. I was really excited to finally be on a quest after almost a full year in camp. I was determined not to let the god down and so I picked Kim, a friend I've known since I was eight with a kick ass power. I didn't really make a lot of friend while in camp and was surprised when one of the older kids probably around 16-18 volunteered to go with us. It seemed pretty easy at first. We were trained to fight monsters and most likely the god just left his mini harp thing somewhere and is too lazy to get it. No life changing and earth shaking quests have been given for a while but this was an opportunity to show Hermes that here I am, I exist, I'm your son. I could make a name for myself. Everything would go well.

We packed our stuff and got ready to leave. As expected Kim was very nervous. It is just like every trip we took. It's just like that day that our parents sent us off to camp… the last day we ever saw them.

"Dun worry. It'll be great. We'll be okay Kimmy I promise," I reassured holding her hand giving the best smile I could muster

"Barry, this is serious. We could get killed out there. We…" she stammered as I tried to steady her trembling hands

"If I were you I'd save that mushy stuff for later," said our companion in an eerily calm and low tone as she gave us a stern gaze. "You at least have an idea what we are going to deal with correct?"

"We're demigods we can handle it. Plus it isn't like there'd be an army of monsters out there guarding it" I replied defiantly only to receive a scrutinizing gaze and a frown that pretty much says I gave the wrong answer. We travelled for days sleeping in the weirdest places like homeless people. As I predicted hardly any monsters came up. Well that was til we made a detour in the subway…

I am not sure what kind of monsters they were but all I knew is that they weren't friendly. One tried to bite off a chunk from my arm while the other clawed at Kimmy who suddenly froze up as she backed against the wall. Her eyes wide and her body trembling as she struggled to shoo away the beast. I managed to chop off the head of the one that's chasing me and run to her aid. It made me wonder where the other girl went. Was she eaten? I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of an explosion and the sight of the ceiling collapsing on the creature and the all too familiar face glaring down at us.

"You were lucky," she said flatly as she pulled Kim up to her feet. This lady was one hell of a sourpuss. Kimmy was almost killed and all she could say was 'You were lucky'. She pushed aside some of the rubble and pulled out a card of some sort from the debris. From the looks of it, it was made out of Celestial bronze. Without another word she walked off again seemingly vanishing like a ghost.

I was wrong. This would be anything but easy. This isn't going to be just a game. Things would never ever be the same.


	2. Chapter 2

We stopped to camp in an abandoned warehouse for the night and I watched our supposed senior sitting in a far corner atop crates writing something in a thick hardbound journal while Kimmy sat close to the fire.

"I'll protect you" I mumbled trying to ease my friend's worries

"I froze. I didn't know what to do. I was scared and wasn't even able to move" she returned hugging her knees keeping a close eye on the flames

"Next time it'll be different. Just remember you're not alone. We'll get through this safe and sound. Both of us will get back to camp with our heads held high" I replied as I put a hand on her shoulder

"Get some sleep. We're moving out early tomorrow" said the girl as she looked down at us with those steely green eyes shining in the dim light under her hood. The white scars on her face made her look rather intimidating as she went back to whatever it was she was writing down. For someone who puts emphasis on optimizing resources she sure does waste a lot of time writing who knows what in that thing.

We went to sleep around the fire with hopes that there won't be any more monsters out there, that we'd be safe even for just a few short hours. Scenes played in my head of a grand explosion and monsters turning into dust, of Kimmy being cornered in the subway, of the hellhound ready to rip my throat out. Lemme tell you it wasn't pleasant to wake up in cold sweat from nightmares like that. It all felt so real. I woke up to the sound of something landing with a loud thump

"seriously?" I heard a crass unamused voice mutter

"I'm trying" Kim replied

"Trying won't keep you from getting killed," it shot back "again" it ordered and a few seconds later another thump could be heard

"I can't do this" Kim whined

"Get up" the voice demanded as I walked to see what's going on. I was greeted with the sight of Kim on the ground with a knife and that seemingly fixed disapproving look on the older demigod as she ordered Kim to get up once more

"I can't. Can we take a break. Please" Kim pleaded

"Will a hellhound or a manticore or heaven forbid a cyclops stop and let you have a break if you're tired?" she shot back annoyed "let me tell you this. You're not in camp anymore ducky. You are in the real world and in this world it's either you get off your sorry arse or you die. Now, get up and try again"

I was taken aback by this. I just froze and watched as Kim tried to defend against the older and considerably bigger girl that mercilessly pushed her back down with every try. Was this what it meant to be a demigod? To constantly hope and pray to every god out there that they'd give you a break and just be expected to keep fighting?


	3. Chapter 3

Kim was silent the whole trip as she rubbed her sore butt and looked at the figure walking in front of us with uncertainty in her eyes. I know she's scared and I also knew that I can't do anything to make it go away. I should've chosen someone else to go with me in this quest. I decided to approach the older demigod and give her a piece of my mind

"hey why'd you rough her up like that?" I asked

"She froze in the middle of battle and she asked" the girl replied as she twirled a card and moved it around much like how a magician would

"what's with the cards?" I asked eyeing the thin rectangle of celestial bronze she's playing with

"Defense" she replied

"Won't a sword or a dagger or even a shield be better than a flimsy playing card?" I asked. She simply laughed as if I said something silly

"You really have a lot to learn kid. Thing about weapons is even if you have the best sword, dagger, bow and arrows is that if you don't have the aptitude to use them you're going to be helpless. These kept me alive long enough to see 2 wars and a lot of dead bodies so I suppose this set of flimsy playing cards is worth the 52 drachmas I paid" She replied as she walked with an amused grin

"Teach me" I said as boldly as I could

"Pardon?" she replied

"Teach me how to get better" I added looking her in the eye

"The only thing I can teach you two is this. In a fight it's better to run and fight another day than to rush head on. You make sure you'd be able to get back alive. That's the point of fighting. It is to make sure the species survives. Has been that way for generations and it probably won't change til you two have grandkids older than me" she replied

"That doesn't sound heroic at all" I shot with discontent

"Because it isn't. If every Demigod were to be a 'hero' then we'd have entire shrines and museums filled with memoirs of those that died in battle," she replied "Not all of us can be heroes but we can live long enough to make sure these heroes would have people standing by them"

"Well I want to be a hero" I replied and she just gave a chuckle

"Child, you'd be nothing more than a fool if you're just going through all this trouble to be called a hero" she replied

"Well then what are you doing this for?" I shot back

"I have my reasons" she replied turning away from us once more


	4. Chapter 4

I heard stories of great heroes from both camps who brought us to victory against the Titans, the Giants, and even Gaea herself. I heard of how they started out just like most of us. I heard of how they did things that most people would be too afraid to even think of. I heard of normal people becoming great by choosing to be great. Maybe I can be like them too, a hero.

Anyone can be a hero but not everyone can be a hero. I learned that the hard way. We came back in one piece with the lyre and presented it to the sun god himself. I didn't know how to feel as I walked towards him, should I be proud that we made it and was able to get the lyre back? I don't know... all I knew is that I felt like my energy has been drained and would never ever come back. We got the Lyre back but it wasn't at a cost. All we got was "great job. You really did me a favor there".

I can almost hear her, the girl we went on the quest with say, "Every thing comes at a price. What you're asking for isn't going to be worth it if you keep on rushing into things. This is not a game. It's literal life and death and the gods are not exactly generous with favors"

Boy was she right... and I am pretty sure this will haunt me for as long as I breathe. I know in my heart that I will never forget the horrors of that gruesome month of running blindly into battles I could've avoided. Was all that simply worth a "great job. You really did me a favor there"... were our lives that insignificant?

Everything was back to normal. Almost everything. We faded back into the crowds of faces again. Our brief moment of recognition was gone. We were nobody once more.


	5. Chapter 5

From that quest we learned what it means to be a demigod. We learned of the price that we'd one day have to pay for this life we have been given. We learned of what we might one day have to sacrifice for a simple "good job" from the gods from the most bitter woman that I have seen in my entire life.

She was mean.

She was harsh.

She was jaded.

She saved us.

We didn't even know her name.

Hypocrite. She was the biggest hypocrite of them all to tell us that running is better than staying to fight... We ran... but she stayed behind and time seemed to have slowed down as we ran...

This stupid book she stashed with the lyre full of names and drawings of people I haven't heard of in camp.

That explosion in the caverns…

3 left and only 2 came back.

The book was left unfinished with nothing more than stories that would never be told and 3 letters written in fine calligraphy inside the back cover.

She is dead.


End file.
